Senator Charles Grassley is confident that work on the five-year farm bill will not have to start from scratch. Grassley points out that the change in Senate Agriculture Committee Republican leadership from Roberts’s northern influence to Cochran’s southern influence might bring about debate or changes that hadn’t happen before.

“But I think that if we want to vote a bill out of committee, the same as we did last time, and the chairman is for doing that, and she’s not for changing a whole lot, I think we can get the job done regardless of who leads the Republicans,” said Grassley, during a conference call with reporters Tuesday morning.

Grassley’s prediction for House action is based on the fact that there were no House Agriculture Committee leadership changes.

“The big thing, then, is will it get brought up on the floor,” Grassley wondered, “and the positive and optimistic aspect of that is that it’s a non-election year; last year was an election year, and a lot of conservatives didn’t want to be seen voting for a farm bill.”

Grassley adds that he thinks that’s a mistake because of the importance of the farm bill.